THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 

370 

v.lS-24 


1  ^MB| 


Return  this  book  on  or  before  the 
Latest  Date  stamped  below. 


University  of  Illinois  Library 


APR  1 


8  !963 


JUN0  3KO 


MAY  24 


L161— H41 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://www.archive.org/details/giftedchildrenpr14stre 


T6e 

*.I4 


UNIVERSITY     OF       ILLINOIS      BULLETIN 

Issued  Weekly 
Vol.  XX  November  27,   1922  No.  13 

[Entered  as  second-class  matter  December  11,  1912,  at  the  post  office  at  Urbana,  Illinois,  under  the 
Act  of  August  24,  1912.  Accepted  for  mailing  at  the  special  rate  of  postage  provided  for  in 
section    1103,  Act  of  October  3,    1917,  authorized  July   31,    1918.] 

EDUCATIONAL  RESEARCH  CIRCULAR  NO.  14 


BUREAU  OF  EDUCATIONAL  RESEARCH 
COLLEGE  OF  EDUCATION 

GIFTED  CHILDREN  AND  PROVISIONS  FOR 
THEM  IN  OUR  SCHOOLS 

By 

Ruth  Streitz 

Associate,  Bureau  of  Educational  Research 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
URBANA 


310 

XUe 


Gifted  Children  and  Provisions  For  Them 
in  Our  Schools 

It  is  obvious  to  all  teachers  that  children  differ  widely  in  their 
capacity  to  do  the  work  of  the  school.  At  one  extreme  we  find  a 
few  mentally  defective  children  (about  1  out  of  every  200)  and  a 
larger  number  who  are  dull  or  stupid.  At  the  other  extreme  we  find 
the  bright  and  the  gifted  children.  Neither  of  these  types  fits  into 
the  regular  organization  and  instruction  of  the  school  which  is  planned 
for  "average  children."  It  is  generally  agreed  that  before  a  school 
can  attain  the  highest  levels  of  efficiency  some  special  provision 
must  be  made  for  the  dull  and  backward  pupils  and  for  the  bright 
and  gifted. 

In  many  schools  we  find  special  classes  or  other  provisions  for 
children  on  the  lower  levels  of  intelligence  but  it  is  seldom  that  cor- 
responding provisions  are  made  for  bright  children.  The  reasons 
for  this  practice  are  obvious.  The  bright  child  usually  does  the 
work  of  the  school  satisfactorily  and  in  most  cases  does  not  create 
any  disciplinary  problems.  Therefore,  he  does  not  force  himself  upon 
the  school  as  a  problem.  However,  the  bright  child  has  just  as 
much  a  right  to  receive  educational  opportunities  commensurate  with 
his  capacity  to  learn  as  the  dull  and  backward  child  to  receive  special 
attention  because  he  does  not  fit  in  with  the  regular  work  of  the  school. 
Moreover,  from  the  standpoint  of  contributions  which  they  will 
make  to  the  progress  of  society,  it  is  more  important  for  the  school 
to  provide  appropriate  educational  facilities  for  the  superior  children. 

School  records  of  certain  gifted  children.  Whipple  defines 
the  term  "gifted"  as  meaning  "those  wholesome,  competent  child- 
dren  with  sound  bodies,  lively  ambitions, — whose  future,  when 
properly  trained  only  fulfills  the  promise  of  early  years."  The 
number  of  such  children  varies  with  different  authorities.  Wood- 
row1  says  that  7  percent  of  our  school  population  may  be  classed 
as  "very  superior"  and  "near  genius"  while  Whipple2  states  we  may 


^oodrow,  Herbert.  Brightness  and  Dullness  in  Children.  Chicago:  J.  B.  Lippin- 
cott  Company,  p.  54. 

2Whipple,  Guy  M.  "Some  features  in  the  education  of  gifted  children,"  School 
and  Society,  12:175-79,  September,  1920. 


safely  place  the  number  at  10  percent.  Before  general  intelligence 
tests  were  available  the  mental  ability  of  many  gifted  children  was 
often  underestimated,  if  not  ignored.  Cases  have  been  reported 
of  pupils  who  were  really  brilliant  being  denied  the  right  of  promo- 
tion. As  a  result  they  frequently  lost  interest  in  the  work  of  the 
school  and  became  retarded  because  the  teacher  failed  to  under- 
stand their  personality  and  to  appreciate  their  mental  capacities. 
The  following  case  reported  by  Woodrow  is  doubtless  typical  of  a 
large  number. 

"Louis  R.  was  nine  years  and  ten  months  old,  when  tested,  and 
was  found  to  have  a  mental  age  of  twelve  years  and  nine  months, 
nearly  three  years  ahead  of  his  chronological  age.  So  high  a  mental 
age  is  very  unusual  for  a  nine  year  old  child.  It  indicated  that  he 
had  sufficient  ability  to  do  work  of  the  fifth  or  sixth  grade.  Actually 
he  was  in  the  'B'  class  of  the  fourth  grade.  Louis  R.  was  not  pro- 
moted to  the  'A'  class  of  the  fourth  grade  because  his  work  in  the 
'B'  class  does  not  show  continuous  improvement  but  is  erratic.  If 
he  would  apply  himself  he  could  do  the  work  fairly  well,  but  he  will 
do  one  or  two  problems  in  arithmetic  and  let  the  rest  go.  He  spends 
most  of  his  time  trying  to  make  aeroplanes,  etc.  out  of  paper,  or  by 
whittling  them  from  little  blocks  of  wood  which  he  brings  to  school. 
He  loses  interest  in  all  school  work  after  a  few  minutes.  He  learned 
to  do  long  division  with  only  one  explanation — did  two  problems 
correctly — then  quit  trying  and  failed  systematically  after  that."1 

The  cause  for  failure  is  obvious.  There  was  no  point  of  contact 
between  the  boy's  active  mind  and  his  school  work.  After  he  was 
tested  in  January  it  was  recommended  that  he  receive  a  special 
promotion.  He  was  transferred  also  to  another  building.  En- 
quiry was  made  in  May  of  the  same  year  and  the  fifth  grade  teacher 
said  that  he  had  again  been  promoted  on  trial  to  "B"  sixth  grade, 
except  in  arithmetic  and  that  she  was  giving  him  special  help  in 
this  subject  out  of  school  hours  so  that  he  could  enter  the  "A"  sixth 
grade  in  the  fall  without  condition. 

Teachers  are  not  likely  to  rate  dull  pupils  as  average  or  superior 
but  they  not  infrequently  rate  superior  children  as  average.2  An 
investigation  was  made  in  the  first  grade  of  one  of  the  New  York 


1Woodrow,  Herbert.  Brightness  and  Dullness  in  Children.  Chicago:  J.  B.  Lippin- 
cott  Company,  p.  35. 

2McCall,  Wm.  A.  How  to  Measure  in  Education.  New  York:  Macmillan  Com- 
pany, 1922,  p.  59. 

4 


public  schools  to  determine  the  retarded  and  the  normal  or  average 
pupils.  A  boy,  W.  H.,  9}4  years  old,  was  discovered  as  possessing  a 
mental  age  two  years  ahead  of  his  chronological  age.  He  was  given 
the  opportunity  to  advance  at  a  very  rapid  rate,  being  promoted  as 
soon  as  he  had  acquired  the  essential  features  of  work  in  each  grade, 
and  without  any  conscious  effort  on  his  part  he  finished  the  work  of 
nine  grades  in  two  years.1 

Another  example  of  a  superior  child  was  observed  by  the  writer. 
A.  J.  was  able  to  complete  the  work  of  the  elementary  school  in  four 
years  owing  to  the  cooperation  of  home  and  school.  She  did  not 
enter  school  until  eight  years  of  age,  having  received  private  in- 
struction from  her  parents  in  the  home.  She  was  examined  at  this 
time  and  her  mental  age  was  found  to  be  fourteen.  She  was  placed  in 
the  III-A  grade  upon  entrance  and  remained  one  month  when  she  was 
promoted  to  the  fourth  grade  where  she  remained  all  year.  She 
entered  the  fifth  grade  at  the  age  of  nine  and  while  in  this  grade  was 
permitted  to  read  the  sixth  grade  books  during  school  hours.  She 
then  passed  the  fifth  and  sixth  grade  examinations  and  entered  the 
seventh  grade.  In  the  seventh  grade  she  continued  to  make  ex- 
cellent records  but  because  of  a  severe  illness  with  influenza  she 
remained  out  of  school  from  December  until  June.  The  following 
September  she  entered  the  VII-A  grade,  completed  it  in  the  spring 
and  began  the  work  of  VIII-B.  During  the  summer  she  continued 
her  readings,  skipped  VIII-A,  and  entered  high  school  at  the  age  of 
twelve.  The  two  years  she  has  attended  high  school  have  been  marked 
with  the  excellent  work  which  comes  from  an  active  mind  rightly 
employed. 

Experiments  with  groups  of  superior  children  have  been  carried 
on  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  Whipple  conducted  an  experi- 
ment in  one  of  the  public  schools  of  Urbana,  Illinois,  with  30  child- 
ren— 15  selected  from  the  fifth  grade  and  15  from  the  sixth  grade, 
representing  the  top  20  percent  of  the  enrollment.  These  children 
were  able  to  do  two  years  work  in  one  by  lessening  the  amount  of 
drill,  decreasing  the  amount  of  explanation  and  by  omitting  or 
passing  rapidly  over  subject  matter  which  was  already  known  or  of 
relative  unimportance.  Whipple  concludes  that,  since  the  rate  of 
learning  in  a  selected  class  of  gifted  children  is  twice  as  great  as  that 
of  the  ordinary  class,  a  group  of  children  properly  selected  in  the 

xSpecht,  Louise  F.     "A  Terman  class  in  public  school  No.  64,  Manhattan,"   School 
and  Society,  9:393-98,  March,  1919. 

5 


primary  grades  could  pass  through  the  curriculum  of  the  standard 
eight  grades  in  five  or  six  years  with  perfect  ease;  they  could  enter 
also  the  four-year  high  school  at  11^-12^2  years  of  age  and  take  up 
the  work  with  assurance.1 

Terman  reported  an  experiment  carried  on  in  Alameda,  Cali- 
fornia, which  included  twenty-four  pupils  selected  by  systematic 
search  throughout  the  public  schools  of  Alameda.  In  order  to  se- 
cure subjects  whose  intelligence  would  be  far  above  the  average, 
the  study  was  limited  to  children  whose  intelligence  quotients  were 
140  or  above.  A  complete  record  was  kept  of  these  children  in 
regard  to  psychological  and  educational  tests,  school  progress,  play 
and  recreation,  trait  ratings,  social  status,  and  heredity.  Inciden- 
tally, it  may  be  noted  that  Terman  concludes  on  the  basis  of  this 
investigation  that  the  intellectually  superior  children  are  apparently 
not  below  the  average  in  general  health.2  The  majority  of  these 
children  had  skipped  grades  in  school  and  yet  their  school  work  was 
in  most  cases  so  superior  as  to  suggest  the  desirability  of  additional 
promotions. 

Methods  of  providing  for  gifted  children.  It  is  a  fundamental 
thesis  of  public  education  in  a  democracy  that  the  schools  should 
provide  adequate  educational  opportunities  for  all  children.  Since 
gifted  children  possess  a  much  greater  capacity  to  learn  than  other 
children  of  the  same  age,  the  educational  opportunities  provided  for 
average  children  cannot  be  called  adequate  for  them.  Additional 
educational  opportunities  may  be  created  by  making  provisions  for 
rapid  progress  through  the  school  system  or  for  an  enriched  curri- 
culum.    Five  specific  plans  are  enumerated  below. 

1.  Rapid  progress  by  skipping  grades.  At  the  regular  pro- 
motion time  or  at  other  times  gifted  children  may  be  advanced  to 
the  next  grade.  In  almost  every  school  system  there  are  a  few 
pupils  who  have  gained  one  or  more  years  by  this  plan. 

2.  Rapid  progress  by  segregation  in  fast  sections.  According 
to  this  plan  the  gifted  children  belonging  to  a  school  grade  are 
placed  in  a  separate  section  and  permitted  to  advance  as  rapidly  as 
they  are  able  to  do  the  regular  work  of  the  grade.     This  plan  has 


1Whipple,  Guy  M.  "Some  features  in  the  education  of  gifted  children,"  School 
and  Society,  12:175-179,  September,  1920. 

2Terman,  Lewis  M.  The  Intelligence  of  School  Children.  Chicago:  Houghton 
Mifflin  Company,  1919,  p.  193. 


been  adopted  in  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  and  in  a  number  of  other 
cities.  In  some  places  it  is  followed  in  all  grades  while  in  others  it 
is  found  in  only  the  intermediate  or  grammar  grades. 

3.  Enriched  curriculum  by  means  of  additional  subjects. 
According  to  this  plan  gifted  pupils  are  taught  in  the  regular  classes 
but  are  permitted  to  undertake  more  than  the  usual  number  of 
school  subjects.  This  plan  is  found  more  frequently  in  the  high 
school  and  in  the  upper  grades  of  the  elementary  school  where  the 
teaching  has  been  departmentalized.  In  the  high  school  gifted 
children  are  frequently  permitted  to  carry  five  subjects  while  other 
pupils  are  restricted  to  four  or  three. 

4.  Enriched  curriculum  by  means  of  supplementary  assign- 
ments. This  plan  makes  provisions  for  assignments  to  be  adjusted 
to  the  capacity  of  the  children.  Gifted  children  are  given  the  most 
difficult  and  extensive  assignments.  However,  they  are  considered 
members  of  the  regular  class.  Usually  additional  credit  or  other 
recognition  for  this  supplementary  work  is  not  given.  However, 
this  feature  could  easily  be  added. 

The  Winnetka  Plan  is  a  combination  of  additional  subjects  and 
supplementary  assignments.  The  instruction,  however,  has  been 
individualized  to  a  large  extent.  Each  pupil  is  permitted  to  progress 
at  his  own  rate.  The  school  has  established  "goals"  which  must  be 
reached  before  the  pupil  can  proceed  to  the  next  grade.  There  are 
no  recitations  and  no  failures;  neither  are  pupils  permitted  to  skip 
grades.1 

5.  Enriched  curriculum  in  segregated  classes.  This  plan 
differs  from  the  two  just  described  in  that  the  gifted  children  are 
segregated  in  separate  classes.  They  do  not  come  in  contact  with 
other  children  in  the  course  of  their  regular  school  work.  They  may 
be  permitted  to  pursue  additional  subjects  or  to  study  the  subjects 
of  the  regular  curriculum  in  a  more  intensive  manner.  Detroit  has 
adopted  this  method  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades.  No  attempt 
is  made  to  have  the  children  gain  time  but  they  study  more  intensively 
English,  History,  Music,  and  Art  and  undertake  certain  special  ad- 
vanced classes  in  Algebra  and  Latin.2 


Washburn,  Carleton  W.  "Educational  measurement  as  a  key  to  individual  in- 
struction," Journal  of  Educational  Research,  5:195-206,  March,  1922. 

2Cleveland,  Elizabeth.  "Detroit's  experiment  with  gifted  children,"  School  and 
Society,  12:179-83,  September,  1920. 


Combination  of  the  above  plans.  Two  or  more  of  the  plans 
just  described  may  be  combined.  For  example,  we  may  have  in 
segregated  classes  both  rapid  progress  and  an  enriched  curriculum. 
A  few  children  may  be  permitted  to  skip  a  grade  in  almost  any  of 
the  plans.  Furthermore,  we  find  many  modifications  due  to  the 
methods  of  instruction  used  or  to  the  particular  curriculum  followed. 

Reasons  for  providing  special  opportunities  for  bright  or  gifted 
children.  Society  has  recognized  that  every  child  has  a  right  to  an 
education.  It  is  particularly  important  that  every  bright  child 
shall  have  an  educational  opportunity  commensurate  with  his  ca- 
pacity. The  future  of  our  social  group  depends  largely  upon  those 
who  are  more  capable  than  the  average.  Those  of  ordinary  capacity 
should  be  able  to  maintain  the  present  level  of  social  development 
but  progress  is  dependent  upon  the  contributions  of  those  possessing 
more  than  average  ability.  Hence  it  is  imperative  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  future  of  organized  society  to  provide  adequate  training 
for  gifted  children.  "Whether  or  not  civilization  moves  on  and  up 
depends  most  on  the  advances  made  by  creative  thinkers,  and 
leaders  in  science,  politics,  art,  morality,  and  religion.  Moderate 
ability  can  follow  or  imitate  but  genius  must  show  the  way."1 

Bright  children  should  be  encouraged  to  recognize  their  respon- 
sibility toward  society.  The  development  of  habits  and  ideals  which 
constitute  good  citizenship  is  especially  important  in  the  case  of 
gifted  children  because  they  must  assume  a  large  responsibility  for 
the  future  of  civilization.  They  are  the  ones  who  should  be  best 
equipped  to  serve  society  but  they  will  fail  unless  actuated  by  appro- 
priate ideals.  When  such  children  pursue  the  ordinary  curriculum 
in  regular  classes  success  comes  so  easily  that  desired  attitudes  and 
ideals  are  often  not  developed. 

"Satan  finds  work  for  idle  hands  to  do"  may  well  serve  to  illus- 
trate what  happens  to  many  bright  children  in  the  ordinary  classes 
who  soon  complete  the  assigned  work  and  are  bored  with  the  repeti- 
tions necessary  for  the  slow  members  of  the  group.  As  a  result  they 
frequently  become  as  much  or  more  of  a  problem  than  those  possess- 
ing lower  degrees  of  mentality.  Provision  should  be  made  so 
that  the  work  asked  of  each  child  will  constitute  a  real  challenge  to 


German,  Lewis  M.    The  Measurement  of  Intelligence.     Chicago:     Houghton 
Mifflin  Company,  1916,  p.  12. 

8 


his  capacity.  Those  of  superior  ability  should  be  asked  to  do  superior 
work,  both  in  amount  and  in  quality.  Only  when  the  maximum 
effort  is  required  of  each  gifted  child  will  those  essential  qualities  of 
concentration,  initiative  and  resourcefulness  be  developed. 

Since  under  the  present  conditions  many  gifted  children  are 
seldom  working  up  to  their  capacity,  it  is  urged  that  the  total  effi- 
ciency of  the  school  will  be  materially  increased  when  we  have  made 
adequate  provision  for  such  children.  Instead  of  frequently  be- 
coming disciplinary  problems  they  will  be  interested  in  their  work. 
They  will  be  doing  things  which  they  enjoy  doing.  They  will  de- 
rive satisfaction  from  work  well  done,  and  as  a  result  the  total  edu- 
cational output  of  the  school  will  be  materially  increased. 

In  addition  to  these  general  arguments  for  making  some  special 
provision  for  gifted  children  certain  arguments  have  been  advanced 
for  each  of  the  particular  plans  which  have  been  enumerated.  Re- 
cently the  advantages  of  segregating  gifted  children  in  special  classes 
has  been  urged.  Only  in  this  way,  its  advocates  claim,  can  freedom 
be  secured  in  creating  the  appropriate  educational  opportunities. 
In  such  groups  it  will  be  possible  for  children  to  progress  at  the  rate 
which  is  best  for  them  and  to  pursue  the  curriculum  which  is  most 
appropriate. 

Objections  to  special  provisions  for  gifted  children.  The  ob- 
jections which  have  been  raised  are,  for  the  most  part,  objections  to  a 
particular  plan  rather  than  to  the  fundamental  principle  of  making 
special  provisions  for  children  possessing  the  highest  degrees  of  men- 
tality. Bagley1  urges  that  segregation  of  pupils  has  no  place  in  a 
democracy.  He  feels  that  if  we  segregate  pupils  on  the  basis  of  their 
capacity  to  learn  we  will  thereby  deprive  them  of  vital  educational 
opportunities  which  exist  in  the  contacts  between  pupils  of  different 
levels  of  intelligence  in  the  usual  classroom. 

Objection  has  been  made  also  to  the  use  of  general  intelligence 
tests  for  the  purpose  of  determining  who  are  the  gifted  children. 
Bagley  has  expressed  the  conviction  that  at  present  the  measures  of 
general  intelligence  are  not  sufficiently  accurate  to  be  used  as  a  pre- 
diction of  the  future  success  of  children  or  as  a  basis  for  separating 
them   into   groups    for   instructional   purposes.     He   also   expresses 


xBagley,  William  C.       "Educational  determinism;  or  democracy  and  the  I.  Q., 
Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  8:257-72,  May,  1922,  p.  264. 


skepticism  with  reference  to  the  constancy  of  the  I.  Q.  It  should, 
however,  be  noted  that  his  opposition  is  to  a  particular  method  rather 
than  to  the  fundamental  principle  that  society  should  provide  gifted 
children  with  educational  opportunities  commensurate  with  their 
capacity  to  learn. 

The  expense  involved  is  another  objection  which  is  raised  when 
it  is  suggested  that  special  provision  should  be  made  for  exceptional 
children.  However,  no  additional  expense  is  involved  in  giving 
bright  children  extra  promotions.  Neither  is  there  additional  ex- 
pense in  enriching  the  course  of  study  for  those  remaining  in  regular 
classes  unless  such  enrichment  calls  for  additional  equipment,  which 
will  not  usually  be  the  case  if  the  school  is  at  the  time  properly  equip- 
ped. The  forming  of  a  section  of  gifted  pupils  has  been  accomplished 
in  many  school  systems  without  additional  expense.  In  some  cases 
although  additional  teachers  have  been  employed  it  is  reported  that 
the  saving  of  from  one  to  two  years  time  for  these  children  when  they 
are  permitted  to  make  rapid  progress  more  than  pays  for  the  addi- 
tional teacher  and  the  extra  school  equipment. 

Rapid  progress  by  means  of  skipping  a  grade  has  been  criticised 
because  in  many  cases  the  pupils  do  not  have  the  opportunity  to 
study  topics  which  are  considered  essential.  Investigation  has 
shown  that  the  gaps  in  a  pupil's  education  which  are  created  by 
skipping  a  grade  tend  to  disappear  because  such  children  are  bright 
and  are  quicker  to  learn  than  others  and  consequently  pick  up  inci- 
dentally much  of  what  they  have  missed.  Many  children  who  have 
skipped  one  or  more  grades  appear  to  do  the  work  of  the  advanced 
grade  with  ease  and  in  many  instances  the  work  has  been  of  superior 
quality. 

It  is  contended  that  if  the  bright  child  is  permitted  to  advance 
at  his  own  rate,  he  will  enter  high  school  and  consequently  college 
too  young.  He  will  be  socially  immature  and  will  have  difficulty  in 
making  the  proper  social  adjustments.  Our  common  observation 
reveals  that  many  gifted  children  have  experienced  no  difficulty  in 
taking  their  places  in  groups  whose  members  were  chronologically 
older.  McCall  suggests  that  it  is  the  older  pupils  who  are  slow  to 
learn  and  who  have  difficulty  in  making  social  adjustments.  They 
dislike  the  presence  of  younger  children  because  they  seem  to  find 
it  an  insult  to  their  intelligence.1 


1McCall,  W.  A.       How  to  Measure  in  Education.     New  York:  Macmillan   Com- 
pany, 1922,  p.  63. 

10 


Conclusions  in  regard  to  provisions  for  gifted  children.  After 
considering  the  various  objections  and  criticisms,  it  is  the  writer's 
judgment  that  the  most  hopeful  plan  for  the  average  school  system 
to  adopt  is  that  of  making  provision  for  gifted  children  in  the  regular 
classes  by  an  enriched  curriculum  through  extra  assignments  and, 
in  some  cases,  by  additional  school  subjects.  This  plan  should, 
however,  be  supplemented  in  some  instances  by  extra  promotions. 
Children  who  are  really  bright  may  be  expected  to  gain  from  one  to 
two  years  by  the  time  they  have  completed  the  elementary  school. 
Where  conditions  are  favorable,  segregation  may  prove  most  satis- 
factory but  at  the  present  time  experimental  evidence  is  lacking  to 
show  that  it  is  the  best  for  all  school  systems. 

Methods  of  selecting  gifted  children.  Until  recently  teachers' 
estimates  and  school  marks  have  constituted  the  evidence  of  the 
degree  of  a  child's  mentality.  Teachers'  estimates  are  often  inade- 
quate. Frequently  the  teacher  fails  to  distinguish  between  capacity 
to  learn  and  conduct.  The  teacher's  judgment  is  also  influenced  by 
personal  characteristics  of  pupils.  Intelligence  is  frequently  under- 
estimated because  the  teacher  fails  to  take  into  account  chronologi- 
cal age  and  emotional  differences.  School  marks  are  likewise  un- 
satisfactory because  they  lack  accuracy. 

Standardized  achievement  tests  are  more  accurate  than  teachers' 
estimates  or  school  marks.  They  are,  however,  not  entirely  satis- 
factory for  the  purpose  of  selecting  gifted  children  because  they  are 
designed  to  measure  achievement  rather  than  capacity  to  achieve. 
They  may,  however,  be  very  useful  in  furnishing  supplementary  in- 
formation, which  will  assist  a  teacher  in  reaching  a  decision  in  a 
doubtful  case. 

The  group  intelligence  test  is  the  best  single  instrument  to  use 
in  selecting  gifted  children.  However,  the  measurements  yielded 
by  these  tests  are  not  absolutely  accurate  and  all  further  information 
which  is  available  should  be  taken  into  consideration  in  determining 
the  children  who  shall  be  considered  "gifted." 

The  discovery  of  gifted  children.  When  a  general  intelligence 
test  is  given  throughout  the  school  system  it  usually  happens  that 
a  few  gifted  children  are  discovered.  Often  pupils  who  have  not 
been  suspected  by  their  teachers  of  possessing  unusual  ability  are 
found  to  be  distinctly  superior.  Whipple  reports  a  girl  with  an  ex- 
ceptional test  record  who  had  been  rated  by  her  teacher  as  "aver- 


11 


age."  This  girl  possessed  an  I.  Q.  of  130  but  owing  to  extreme 
timidity  had  not  taken  an  active  and  responsive  part  in  the  class- 
room work.  After  overcoming  these  difficulties,  the  pupil  made  a 
much  better  showing  in  her  school  work  and  the  teacher  then  agreed 
that  she  could  have  done  more  successful  work  in  an  advanced 
grade.1 

Another  case  which  may  be  cited  is  that  of  an  eleven-year  old 
boy  who  was  found  to  have  a  mental  age  of  fourteen  years  and  one 
month.  The  boy  was  described  as  being  slow  in  his  movements  and 
in  speech  yet  uncommonly  correct  in  reasoning.  His  practical  judg- 
ment was  good  and  he  appeared  self  possessed.  His  teacher,  how- 
ever, declared  that  his  school  work  was  not  above  the  average. 

When  these  gifted  children  in  a  school  system  have  been  dis- 
covered educators  more  and  more  should  realize  that  this  group  does 
need  direction  so  that  their  special  abilities  may  be  used  to  the  greatest 
advantage.  Interest  must  be  stimulated  and  idleness  prevented. 
"Each  pupil,  whatever  may  be  the  character  and  degree  of  his  natural 
gifts  must  be  given  training  of  such  a  nature  as  will  give  the  utmost 
possible  return  to  the  community  for  his  particular  intellectual  en- 
dowment."2 


^Vhipple,  G.  M.  Classes  for  Gifted  Children.  Bloomington:  Public  School 
Publishing  Company,  1919,  p.  96. 

2Trabue,  M.  R.  "Some  pitfalls  in  the  administrative  use  of  intelligence  tests." 
Journal  of  Educational  Research,  6:1-11,  June,  1922. 

12 


0 


V. 


